Renovations set to begin at Peoria Sports Complex

By Brittany Vermilyea
| 12:42 p.m.March 29, 2013

The Peoria Sports Complex, which has gone from outpost to central locale in the Cactus League, is being renovated for the second 20 years of the relationship between the Padres, Seattle Mariners and the City of Peoria.
Christina Tetreault

The Peoria Sports Complex, which has gone from outpost to central locale in the Cactus League, is being renovated for the second 20 years of the relationship between the Padres, Seattle Mariners and the City of Peoria.

PEORIA, Ariz.  The Peoria Sports Complex is about to get a facelift for its 20th birthday.

While the team completed its spring training work at the facility Thursday, work on the complex is just about to begin.

Set to get underway next month, the improvements to the Padres spring training home include a complete renovation of both major and minor league training facilities, clubhouses, and coaching staff areas, additional meeting space and administration space on the second floor, as well as an update to the pre-existing weight room.

“They’ve been in this building since 1994. The facility itself has held up very well for being 20 years old it’s in very good shape but we sort of outgrew some of the amenities we need to work with the athletes,” said Fred Uhlman, Jr., Padres vice president and assistant general manager of baseball operations who is overseeing the renovation project. Uhlman joined the club in 1995, just one year after the Peoria Sports Complex opened.

The facility blazed a new trail for Major League Baseball when it was built in 1994. The sprawling 145-acre complex was the first of its kind to host two major league teams for spring training, the Padres and the Mariners. (The Mariners side of the complex will also see large-scale upgrades in the coming year.)

“I don’t know that it was the trendsetter necessarily but it certainly allowed people to see that a two team facility could work,” said Uhlman.

Now, half of the facilities in the Cactus League host two major league teams, including Salt River Fields (Diamondbacks, Rockies), Camelback Ranch (White Sox, Dodgers) and Goodyear Ballpark (Indians, Reds), all of which have been built in the last five years.

A central piece to the Padres’ renovations - a larger clubhouse. The current rectangular clubhouse currently only has 58 built-in lockers. Once renovated, the clubhouse will house 70 lockers in an oval shape.

“This year we had 68 players at camp with only 58 lockers. We had to move in portable lockers and we won’t have to do that in the new facility…we sort of outgrew the complex,” said Uhlman.

“Isn’t newer better?” Padres Manager Bud Black said as he laughed about the impending renovations. “I’m not an architect but I have seen some plans and I know there was a great deal of thought put into it. I know that everybody involved from the Padres to the construction company and the architects have done everything possible to ensure that the end result will be very favorable to everyone; the players, staff, media and the fans.”

Another key part of the renovations is expected to bring benefits to the Padres organization beyond just February and March.

“Peoria is the hub of our player development and rehabilitation program. A lot of people don’t realize this is a year round facility. We felt we needed to help better develop and rehabilitate our players specifically in the training area,” said Ulhman.

To that end, the update of the training and rehabilitation center will include adding hot and cold sunk in tubs as well as a HydroWorx underwater treadmill, which Uhlman said were key pieces very important to the Padres training staff.

“We strive for the ultimate care for our athletes and this is just another tool we’ll utilize for different aspects of everyday maintenance of the player. Also, from the rehab standpoint depending on what their injury may be, to help facilitate progression and to get them back on the field,” said athletic trainer for the Padres organization, Nathan Stewart. “It’s time we have those for us to utilize.”

The Padres have until April 15 to be out of the building, which is the day the demolition will begin.

“Our goal, and it WILL be completed by early January of 2014, we will be able to come back into the building, set up shop and be ready to go when the players report in February,” said Uhlman, emphasizing the word ‘will’ as he spoke.

On Thursday, the Padres played the Indians in their final Cactus League game at the Peoria Sports Complex before departing the facility as they know it for the last time.

“There are a lot of good memories here for a lot of people who have been with the Padres for awhile but you always look to make progress. It’s not like we’re moving, we’re just updating,” said Uhlman.

This story is part of a partnership between U-T San Diego and Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.